Air purifier

ABSTRACT

The present embodiment may comprise: a housing that have a suction port, a space formed therein, and a discharge port formed in an upper portion thereof; a purification unit and a blowing unit accommodated in the space; a discharge guide that is disposed in an upper portion of the housing and discharges blown air to the discharge port; a tilting mechanism that is connected to the discharge guide to tilt the discharge guide; and a lifting and lowering mechanism that lifts and lowers the tilting mechanism.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to an air purifier, and moreparticularly, to an air purifier from which air purified by apurification unit is discharged in the form of various airflows.

BACKGROUND ART

An air purifier is a device that is provided in homes, offices, andpublic offices to purify indoor air.

The air purifier may include a blowing unit for flowing air, and apurification unit such as a filter.

The air purifier may be classified into a ceiling-type air purifier thatis mounted on a ceiling or connected to a wire extending downward fromthe ceiling, a wall-type air purifier that is mounted on a wall, and astanding-up-type air purifier used indoors on the floor, depending onthe installation location thereof.

In one example of the ceiling-type air purifier, a lower suction portthrough which air is sucked may be formed in a lower surface, an upperdischarge port through which air is discharged may be formed in an uppersurface, and a blowing unit and a purification unit may be disposedtherein. In addition, indoor air may be sucked into the air purifierthrough the lower suction port and purified by the purification unit,and the air purified by the purification unit may be discharged to theupper side of the air purifier through the upper discharge port.

Among air purifiers, an air purifier having a flow path structure oflower suction/upper discharge may gradually accumulate foreignsubstances such as dust (hereinafter referred to as dust) around the airpurifier on the upper surface of the air purifier while operationthereof is stopped, and move the dust accumulated on the upper surfaceof the air purifier by the air blown upward from the air purifier toscatter the dust around the air purifier when operation of the airpurifier is resumed.

On the other hand, the air purifier may suck air to the lower surface topurify it, and discharge the purified air in the side direction insteadof the upper direction. An example of such an air purifier is disclosedin Korean Patent registration No. 10-1176565 (published on Aug. 23,2012).

In the air purifier disclosed in Republic of Korea Patent RegistrationNo. 10-1176565 (published on Aug. 23, 2012), outlets are formed in theside plates of upper and lower frames, and the air purified in thepurification unit may be discharged in the side direction of the upperand lower frames through the outlets.

INVENTION Technical Problem

In an air purifier according to the prior art, since air purified by apurification unit is horizontally discharged in four directions, thatis, front, rear, left, and right directions, of upper and lower framesthrough a discharge port, it is not easy to intensively discharge thepurified air from the air purifier in a specific direction and it is noteasy to switch airflow in various directions.

An object of the present disclosure is to provide an air purifier inwhich a discharge direction of air purified by a purification unit maybe switched to various directions.

Another object of the present disclosure is to provide an air purifiercapable of forming concentrated discharge airflow with a simplestructure.

Technical Solution

In an air purifier according to an embodiment of the present disclosure,a discharge port may be formed in an upper portion of a housing, and adischarge guide may be disposed on the housing. The discharge guide maybe raised and lowered. The discharge guide may be tilted.

A suction port may be formed in the housing, and a space may be formedin the housing.

A purification unit and a blowing unit may be accommodated in the space.

The discharge guide is disposed on the upper portion of the housing andmay discharge and guide air blown through the discharge port.

The air purifier may include a tilting mechanism for tilting thedischarge guide. The air purifier may further include a liftingmechanism for raising and lowering the discharge guide.

The discharge port may be opened in the upper portion of the housing inan upper-and-lower direction, and the air blown by the blowing unit maybe discharged in the upper direction through the discharge port.

A size of the discharge guide is larger than a size of the dischargeport. A rim of the discharge guide may face a periphery of the dischargeport in the upper-and-lower direction.

The discharge guide may cover the discharge port above the dischargeport. The discharge guide may include a lower guide surface for guidingthe air blown from the discharge port. The discharge guide and the lowerguide surface may face the discharge port and the space.

The air which has passed through the discharge port may be guided alongthe lower guide surface, and airflow may be switched to a directionguided by the discharge guide.

The discharge guide may be raised or lowered or tilted from the top ofthe housing, and a gap through which air discharged through thedischarge port may pass may be formed between the discharge guide andthe upper portion of the housing.

The gap between the upper portion of the housing and the discharge guidemay be opened in a horizontal direction, and the area of the gap may bechanged by the height and tilting angle of the discharge guide.

The housing may include a curved surface formed around the dischargeport. The housing may further include a pair of side surfaces extendingfrom the curved surface.

The housing may include a left curved surface on the left side of thedischarge port and a right curved surface on the right side of thedischarge port.

The pair of side surfaces may be formed to gradually move away from eachother downward.

The width of the housing in a left-and-right direction may graduallyincrease in a downward direction.

The housing includes a discharge body having an open bottom and adischarge port formed at an upper portion and an inlet guide disposedbelow the discharge body.

The housing may include a hanger connector disposed on at least one ofthe discharge body or the inlet guide and connected with a hanger unitinstalled on a ceiling.

The discharge body includes an upper curved portion in which thedischarge port is opened in an upper-and-lower direction and a curvedsurface is formed around the discharge port, a left slope portionextending from a lower left end of the upper curved portion, and a rightslope portion extending from a lower right end of the upper curvedportion.

The left slope portion and the right slope portion may move away fromeach other downward.

The discharge guide may comprise a vane having a larger size than a sizeof the discharge port and a connector protruding from a lower surface ofthe vane and connected to a horizontal shaft of the tilting mechanism tobe tilted about the horizontal shaft.

The tilting mechanism may be connected to the discharge guide, thelifting mechanism may raise and lower the discharge guide by raising andlowering the tilting mechanism, and the lifting mechanism may beconnected to the tilting mechanism.

The lifting mechanism may comprise a carrier equipped with the tiltingmechanism, a rack formed in the carrier, a pinion engaged with the rack,and a lifting motor installed in the housing to rotate the pinion.

The air purifier may further comprise a controller configured to controlthe tilting mechanism and the lifting mechanism in a plurality of modes.

The plurality of modes may comprise a pop-up mode and a descendingairflow mode.

The pop-up mode may be a mode in which the discharge guide is raised toa first height.

The descending airflow mode may be a mode in which the discharge guideis lowered to a second height lower than the first height.

The second height is a height at which air guided to the discharge guideforms Coanda airflow along a curved surface formed around the dischargeport. The second height may be a height at which the lower guide surfaceis not in contact with the curved surface.

The plurality of modes may comprise a left concentrated discharge modeand a right concentrated discharge mode.

In the left concentrated discharge mode, a distance between a left endof the discharge guide and the left curved surface may be longer than adistance between a right end of the discharge guide and the right curvedsurface.

In the right concentrated discharge mode, a distance between a right endof the discharge guide and the right curved surface may be longer than adistance between a left end of the discharge guide and the left curvedsurface.

The air purifier may further comprise a sensor configured to sense apollution level of a room, and a controller configured to control thetilting mechanism and the lifting mechanism according to the pollutionlevel sensed by the sensor.

The controller may control the tilting mechanism and the liftingmechanism so that the discharge guide guides air toward an area wherethe sensor is located, when the pollution level sensed by the sensor iswithin a set range.

Effect of the Invention

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in a pop-up modein which a discharge guide is raised, air discharged to a discharge portmay be discharged while spreading widely in an upper-and-lower directionthrough a large gap formed between an upper portion of a housing and thedischarge guide, and the air purified by a purification unit may beevenly spread over a wide area around an air purifier.

In addition, in a descending airflow mode in which the discharge guideis lowered, the air discharged to the discharge port may be guided to acurved surface formed around the discharge port while passing through asmall gap formed between the upper portion of the housing and thedischarge guide, and the air discharged to the discharge port may beintensively discharged while forming a descending airflow along thecurved surface and side surface of the housing due to the Coanda effectby the curved surface.

In addition, when the discharge guide is tilted to the left or right bythe tilting mechanism, the air purified by the purification unit may beintensively discharged to one of the left or right sides with respect tothe air purifier, and a specific area of a room may be more rapidlypurified.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an air purifier according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an air purifier according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an air purifier according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing the inside of the air purifier shown inFIG. 1 .

FIG. 5 is a front view when the air purifier shown in FIG. 1 dischargesairflow.

FIG. 6 is a front view when the discharge guide shown in FIG. 1 islowered.

FIG. 7 is a front view when the discharge guide shown in FIG. 1 istilted to one side.

FIG. 8 is a front view when the discharge guide shown in FIG. 1 istilted to the other side.

FIG. 9 is a control block diagram of an air purifier according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

BEST MODE

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed in detail with drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an air purifier according to anembodiment of the present disclosure, FIG. 2 is a plan view of an airpurifier according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, FIG. 3 isa cross-sectional view of an air purifier according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure, and FIG. 4 is a side view showing the inside ofthe air purifier shown in FIG. 1 .

The air purifier may include a housing 1, a purification unit 2, ablowing unit 3, a discharge guide 4, a tilting mechanism 5, and alifting mechanism 6.

The housing 1, the purification unit 2, the blowing unit 3, thedischarge guide 4, the tilting mechanism 5 and the lifting mechanism 6may constitute an assembly A (hereinafter referred to as a clean moduleA), and the clean module A may be installed to be suspended from aceiling C (see FIGS. 5 to 8 ).

The housing 1 may form the appearance of the air purifier. In thehousing 1, a suction port 11 and a discharge port 12 may be formed, anda space S may be formed inside the housing 1.

The suction port 11 may be formed in a lower part of the housing 1, ormay be formed in a front or rear part. The suction port 11 may be formedin the housing 1 to be opened in an upper-and-lower direction Z, aleft-and-right direction X or a front-and-rear direction Y.

The discharge port 12 may be formed in an upper portion of the housing1. The discharge port 12 may be opened in the upper portion of thehousing 1 in the upper-and-lower direction Z. The discharge port 12 maybe formed at a height higher than the height of an upper end of thesuction port 11.

The purification unit 2 may be accommodated in the space 51, as shown inFIG. 3 . The purification unit 2 may include a filter accommodated inthe space S, and an example of such a filter include a high-performancefilter such as a HEPA filter, a humidifying filter for absorbingmoisture, an electric dust collection filter having a charging unit (oran ionizing unit) or a renewable zeolite filter.

If the purification unit 2 is a configuration that may purify air, itmay be applied to all without being limited to its operating method.

A pair of purification units 2 may be accommodated in the space S. Thepair of purification units 22 and 24 may be disposed to be spaced apartfrom each other in the space S. The pair of purification units 22 and 24may be spaced apart in the left-and-right direction X, and the pair ofpurification units 22 and 24 may include the left purification unit 22and the right purification unit 24. Hereinafter, the commonconfiguration of the left purification unit 22 and the rightpurification unit 24 will be described as the purification unit 2.

The blowing unit 3 may be accommodated in the space S, as shown in FIG.3 . The blowing unit 3 may be disposed lower than the discharge port 12.The blowing unit 3 may include a fan motor 32 mounted in the housing 1and a fan 34 connected to the fan motor 32 and rotated by the fan motor32.

The fan 34 may be configured as a centrifugal fan or an axial fan, andis applicable as long as it is a fan capable of blowing air upward.

When the suction port 11 is formed in a lower part of the housing 1, andthe discharge port 12 is formed in an upper portion of the housing 1,the air outside the air purifier is sucked into the space S of thehousing 1 through the suction port 11, and the air sucked into the spaceS may be purified while passing through the purification unit 2. The airpurified by the purification unit 2 may be blown upward by the blowingunit 3.

Air blown by the blowing unit 2 may flow to the upper portion of thehousing 1, pass through the discharge port 12 and flow upward.

The discharge guide 4 may be disposed to discharge and guide the airblown to the discharge port 12. The discharge guide 4 may be placed onthe housing 1. The discharge guide 4 may change the direction of the airpassing through the discharge port 12 to the side direction or adownward slope direction. After the air which has passed through thedischarge port 12 hits the discharge guide 4, it may be switched in adirection guided by the discharge guide 4.

The size of the discharge guide 4 may be larger than that of thedischarge port 12. The rim 42 of the discharge guide 4 may face theperiphery of the discharge port 12 in the upper-and-lower direction Z.The rim 42 of the discharge guide 4 may face curved surfaces 13 and 14formed around the discharge port 12. The rim 42 of the discharge guide 4may face the curved surfaces 13 and 14 in the upper-and-lower direction.

The discharge guide 4 may cover the discharge port 12 above thedischarge port 12. When operation of the air purifier is stopped,foreign substances in the air may fall on an upper surface of thedischarge guide 4 and are blocked by the discharge guide 4 not to flowinto the discharge port 12.

The discharge guide 4 may include a lower guide surface 41 for guidingthe air blown from the discharge port 12. The lower guide surface 41 mayface the space S. The lower guide surface 41 may be positioned on thespace S and the discharge port 12, and may face the space S and thedischarge port 12 in the upper-and-lower direction Z. The lower guidesurface 41 may face the curved surfaces 13 and 14 formed around thedischarge port 12 in the upper-and-lower direction.

The discharge guide 4 may include a vane 44 having a larger size thanthe discharge port 12. The lower guide surface 41 may be a surfacefacing the discharge port 12 and the periphery of the discharge port 12of the vane 44.

The discharge guide 4 may include a connector 46 connected to ahorizontal shaft 54 of the tilting mechanism 5 to be tilted about thehorizontal shaft 54. The connector 46 may be formed to protrude from alower surface of the vane 44.

When the discharge guide 4 is lowered, the discharge guide 4 may comecloser to the upper portion of the housing 1, and when the dischargeguide 4 is raised, the discharge guide 4 may move away from the upperportion of the housing 1.

A gap G through which air may pass may be formed between the upperportion of the housing 1 and the discharge guide 4.

The gap G may be defined between the rim 42 of the discharge guide 4 andthe upper portion of the housing 1.

The size of the gap G may be determined according to the height or angleof the discharge guide 4.

The housing 1 may be formed so that the air which has passed through thegap G is guided to descending airflow after being guided to thedischarge guide 4. The descending airflow described herein may mean thatthe air which has passed through the discharge port 12 flows in a leftslope direction LI or a right slope direction RI.

The housing 1 may include curved surfaces 13 and 14 formed around thedischarge port 12. The housing 1 may include a left curved surface 13located on the left side of the discharge port 12 and a right curvedsurface 14 located on the right side of the discharge port 12.

The curved surfaces 13 and 14 may be formed such that the air guided tothe discharge guide 4 after passing through the discharge port 12 flowsin a Coanda effect.

The housing 1 may further include a pair of side surfaces 15 and 16extending from the curved surfaces 13 and 14. The pair of side surfaces15 and 16 may gradually move away from each other downward.

The housing 1 may be formed so that a width in the left-and-rightdirection X gradually increases downward.

The housing 1 may be composed of a combination of a plurality ofmembers.

The housing 1 may include a discharge body 17 having an open bottom andthe discharge port 12 formed in an upper portion thereof.

The discharge port 12 may be formed to be opened in the upper-and-lowerdirection in the upper portion of the discharge body 17.

The discharge body 17 may include upper curved portions 17C and 17D inwhich the discharge port 12 is opened in the upper-and-lower directionand curved surfaces 13 and 14 are formed around the discharge port 12, aleft slope portion 17E extending from a lower left end of the uppercurved portion 17A, and a right slop part 17F extending from a lowerright end of the upper curved portion 17A.

The cross-sectional shape of the upper curved portions 17C and 17D maybe an arc shape convex in the upward direction, and the cross-sectionalshape of each of the upper and lower surfaces thereof may be an arcshape.

A pair of the upper curved portions 17C and 17D may be provided, and apair of the upper curved portions 17C and 17D may include the left uppercurved portion 17C positioned around the left side of the discharge port12, and the right upper curved portion 17D positioned around the rightside of the discharge port 12.

The discharge port 12 may be defined as an opening opened between theleft upper curved portion 17C and the right upper curved portion 17D inthe upper-and-lower direction.

The left slope portion 17E and the right slope portion 17F may move awayfrom each other downward.

The left slope portion 17E may extend long in the left slope directionLI from the lower end of the left upper portion 17C.

The right slope portion 17F may extend long in the right slope directionRI from the lower end of the right upper curved portion 17D.

The discharge body 17 may include a pair of side bodies 17A and 17B. Thepair of side bodies 17A and 17B may be configured to be symmetrical inthe left-and-right direction. The upper portions of the pair of sidebodies 17A and 17B may be coupled to each other, and the pair of sidebodies 17A and 17B may be disposed to move away from each otherdownward.

The left body 17A of the pair of side bodies 17A and 17B may include theleft upper curved portion 17C and the left slope portion 17E, and theright body 17B of the pair of side bodies 17A and 17B may include theright upper curved portion 17D and the right slope portion 17F.

The discharge body 17 may be placed on an inlet guide 18, and may beseated on the inlet guide 18.

The housing 1 may further include the inlet guide 18. The inlet guide 18may be disposed below the discharge body 17. The inlet guide 18 mayguide air into the discharge body 17.

The inlet guide 18 is to guide the external air to be sucked into thespace S and may be connected to at least one of the discharge body 17 orthe purification unit 2. The inlet guide 18 may be spaced apart from afloor in a room in the upper-and-lower direction Z when the clean moduleA is completely installed.

An example of the inlet guide 18 may be composed of a suction grill or asuction panel formed with the suction port.

Another example of the inlet guide 18 may be composed of a suction guidefor guiding the air sucked toward the space S, and, in this case, thesuction port 11 through which air passes to be suck into the dischargebody 17 may be formed between the inlet guide 18 and the discharge body17.

The suction port 11 may be formed between the side end of the inletguide 18 and the inner surface of the discharge body 17.

The left end of the inlet guide 18 may be spaced apart from the leftinner surface of the discharge body 17, and the right end of the inletguide 18 may be spaced apart from the right inner surface of thedischarge body 17.

The length L1 of the inlet guide 18 in the left-and-right direction Xmay be shorter than the distance L2 between the left inner surface ofthe discharge body 17 and the right inner surface of the discharge body17.

In this case, the suction port 11 may include a left suction port formedbetween the left end of the inlet guide 18 and the left inner surface ofthe discharge body 17, and a right suction port formed between the rightend of the inlet guide 18 and the right inner surface of the dischargebody 17.

In the housing 1, a lighting module 8 may be disposed. The lightingmodule 8 may be disposed to illuminate the lower part of the airpurifier. The lighting module 8 may include a light source such as anincandescent lamp, a fluorescent lamp, or an LED assembly. The lightingmodule 8 may be disposed in a lower part of the clean module A.

As an example of the air purifier, the inlet guide 18 and the lightingmodule 8 may be configured separately. In this case, any one of theinlet guide 18 or the lighting module 8 may be placed around the other.

As another example of the air purifier, the lighting module 8 isdisposed inside the inlet guide 18 and the assembly of the inlet guide18 and the lighting module 8 constitutes a lighting fixture. In thiscase, the inlet guide 18 may include a diffusion plate through which thelight of the lighting module 8 is diffused. In addition, in this case,the lighting module may be disposed above the diffusion plate.

Meanwhile, at least one of the discharge body 17 or the inlet guide 18may include hanger connectors 19 and 20 connected to a hanger unit U(see FIGS. 5 to 8 ) installed on a ceiling C (see FIGS. 5 to 8 ).

The hanger connectors 19 and 20 may be integrally formed with the inletguide 18, and may extend upwardly from the inlet guide 18. In the airpurifier, instead of the hanger connectors 19 and 20 being integrallyformed with the inlet guide 18, the hanger connectors 19 and 20 areintegrally formed with the discharge body 17. In the air purifier, thehanger connectors 19 and 20 may be manufactured separately from thedischarge body 17 and the inlet guide 18 and then coupled to at leastone of the discharge body 17 or the inlet guide 18.

A pair of hanger connectors 19 and 20 may be provided, and the pair ofconnectors 19 and 20 may include a front connector 19 and a rearconnector 20.

The front connector 19 may extend upwardly from the upper end of theinlet guide 18, and may be disposed between the left body 17A and theright body 17B.

The rear connector 20 may extend upwardly from the rear end of the inletguide 18, and may be disposed between the left body 17A and the rightbody 17B.

Each of the front connector 19 and the rear connector 20 may have ashape in which the length in the left-and-right direction Z increasesdownward.

Each of the upper end 19A of the front connector 19 and the upper end20A of the rear connector 20 may have a shape corresponding to the lowersurfaces of the upper curved portions 17C and 17D, and may have an arcshape convex in the upward direction.

Each of the upper end 19A of the front connector 19 and the upper end20A of the rear connector 20 may be coupled to the discharge body 17,particularly, the upper curved portions 17C and 17D, and the dischargebody 17 may be placed on connectors 19 and 20 and supported on thehanger connectors 19 and 20.

The suction port 11 formed in the housing 1 may be formed between thedischarge body 17 and the hanger connectors 19 and 20. In this case, thesuction port 11 may be formed to be opened in the front-and-reardirection between the discharge body 17 and the hanger connectors 19 and20.

A distance L3 between the left slope portion 17E and the right slopeportion 17F in the left-and-right direction X may be longer than thelength L4 of the hanger connectors 19 and 20 in the left-and-rightdirection X.

The tilting mechanism 5 may tilt the discharge guide 4. In addition, thelifting mechanism 6 may raise and lower the discharge guide 4.

Any one of the tilting mechanism 5 and the lifting mechanism 6 may beconnected to the discharge guide 4, the other of the tilting mechanism 5and the lifting mechanism 6 may be connected to any one of the tiltingmechanism 5 and the lifting mechanism 6.

When the tilting mechanism 5 is connected to the discharge guide 4 totilt the discharge guide 4, the lifting mechanism 6 may be connected tothe tilting mechanism 5 to raise or lower the tilting mechanism 5 andthe discharge guide 4.

The tilting mechanism 5 may include a tilting motor 52 having thehorizontal axis 54 connected to the connector 46.

The tilting mechanism 5 may tilt the discharge guide 4 so that the leftend of the discharge guide 4 moves away from the left curved surface 13and the right end of the discharge guide 4 approaches the right curvedsurface 14.

In this case, the gap G between the left end of the discharge guide 4and the left curved surface 13 may be increased, and the gap G betweenthe right end of the discharge guide 4 and the right curved surface 14may be decreased or absent. Air which has passed through the dischargeport 12 may be discharged and guided in the left direction L by thedischarge guide 4. The air purifier may be in a left concentrateddischarge mode in which the purified air is mainly discharged and guidedin the left direction L.

The tilting mechanism 5 may tilt the discharge guide 4 so that the leftend of the discharge guide 4 moves away from the left curved surface 13and the right end of the discharge guide 4 approaches the right curvedsurface 14.

In this case, the gap G between the right end of the discharge guide 4and the right curved surface 13 may be decreased or absent, and the gapG between the right end of the discharge guide 4 and the right curvedsurface 14 may be increased, and the air which has passed through thedischarge port 12 may be discharged and guided in the right direction Rby the discharge guide 4. The air purifier may be in a rightconcentrated discharge mode in which the purified air is mainlydischarged and guided in the right direction R.

When the lifting mechanism 6 is connected to the discharge guide 4 toraise or lower the discharge guide 4, the tilting mechanism 5 is mountedin the housing 1 and connected to the lifting mechanism 6 to tilt thelifting mechanism 6 and the discharge guide 4.

The lifting mechanism 6 may include a carrier 62 equipped with thetilting mechanism 5, a rack 64 formed in the carrier 62, a pinion 66engaged with the rack 64, and a lifting motor 68 installed in thehousing 1 to rotate the pinion 66.

A motor accommodation part 63 in which the tilting motor 52 constitutingthe tilting mechanism 5 is accommodated may be accommodated in thecarrier 62, and, when the carrier 62 is raised and lowered, the tiltingmotor 52 may be raised and lowered together with the carrier 62.

The carrier 62 may surround the outer circumferential surface of thetilting motor 52, and may be a tilting motor housing that protects thetilting motor 52.

The tilting motor 52 may have the horizontal shaft 54 disposed in thefront-and-rear direction Y.

The rack 64 may be formed to protrude from one side of the carrier 62.The rack 64 may extend to protrude downward from the carrier 62, and maybe formed long in the upper-and-lower direction Z.

The pinion 66 may be connected to the rotating shaft 69 of the liftingmotor 68, may be engaged with the rack 64, may raise or lower the rack64 when the rotating shaft 69 rotates.

The lifting motor 68 may be fixedly mounted in the housing 1, and therotating shaft 69 of the lifting motor 68 may be parallel to thehorizontal shaft 54 of the tilting motor 52.

The air purifier may further include a lifting guide 70 that may guideraising and lowering of the tilting mechanism 5. The lifting guide 70may be disposed inside the housing 1, and is formed long in theupper-and-lower direction to guide the carrier 62, particularly, therack 74, so that the tilting mechanism 5 moves linearly in theupper-and-lower direction Z. The lifting guide 70 may be connected tothe housing 1 or the purification unit 2.

The lifting guide 70 may be long disposed in the upper-and-lowerdirection Z around the rack 64 to guide raising and lowering of the rack64.

When the lifting mechanism 6 raises the discharge guide 4, the airpurifier may be in a pop-up mode in which the discharge guide 4 israised. The gap G between the discharge guide 4 and the upper surfaces13 and 14 may be increased, and the air which has passed through thedischarge port 12 may be widely discharged through the large gap. Thepop-up mode may be a normal mode or a diffusion mode in which thepurified air is diffused toward a large area of the room.

When the lifting mechanism 6 lowers the discharge guide 4, the airpurifier may be in a descending airflow mode in which the dischargeguide 4 descends.

In the descending airflow mode, the gap G between the discharge guide 4and the upper surfaces 13 and 14 may be reduced, and the air which haspassed through the discharge port 12 may be guided to the curvedsurfaces 13 and 14 while passing through the small gap, the air guidedto the discharge guide 4 flows along the curved surfaces 13 and 14 toincrease the Coanda effect, and the air may form descending airflowflowing in the left slope direction LI and the right slope direction L2.

FIG. 5 is a front view when the air purifier shown in FIG. 1 dischargesairflow, FIG. 6 is a front view when the discharge guide shown in FIG. 1is lowered, FIG. 7 is a front view when the discharge guide shown inFIG. 1 is tilted to one side, FIG. 8 is a front view when the dischargeguide shown in FIG. 1 is tilted to the other side, and FIG. 9 is acontrol block diagram of an air purifier according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

The housing 1 may be disposed to be spaced apart from the ceiling C andthe floor B of the room under the ceiling C, respectively.

The air purifier may further include a hanger unit U installed on theceiling C, and the hanger unit U may include a support body W(hereinafter referred to as a support body) such as a wire or a supportrod extending downward. The hanger unit U may include a mounter mountedon the ceiling C, and the support body W may extend downwardly from themounter.

The housing 1 may be connected to the support body W and may beinstalled to hang on the hanger unit U installed on the ceiling C.

In the hanger unit U, a wire for supplying power to the clean module Amay extend downward, and the wire may be connected to the clean module Ato supply power to the clean module A.

The housing 1 may be connected to a lower part of the support body W,and the upper end of the housing 1 may be spaced apart from the ceilingC. When the housing 1 is connected to the lower part of the support bodyW, it may be disposed to be spaced apart from the ceiling C by apredetermined distance in the upper-and-lower direction Z. A distancebetween the housing 1 and the hanger unit U may be longer than a maximumlifting width of the discharge guide 4, and the discharge guide 4 doesnot interfere with the hanger unit U even if it is raised to a maximumheight.

The air purifier may further include a sensor for sensing the pollutionlevel of the room in which the air purifier is disposed.

The air purifier may include at least one sensor spaced apart from theclean module A. The sensor may be provided outside the housing 1 andspaced apart from the housing 1.

The sensor is preferably provided at a location that the air purified bythe clean module A may be reached. The sensor may be disposed at alocation spaced apart from the clean module A by a predetermineddistance or more.

The sensor may be communicatively connected to a controller 9. The airpurifier may include a plurality of sensors 101, 102, 103, 104 and 105,and the plurality of sensors 101, 102, 103, 104 and 105 may be disposedto be spaced apart from each other in the room R in which the cleanmodule A is installed.

In this case, each of the plurality of sensors 101, 102, 103, 104, and105 may be communicatively connected to the controller 9.

The sensors 101, 102, 103, 104 and 105 may include a sensing element 112for sensing foreign substances such as dust, a sensor PCB 114 forprocessing the sensing value of the sensing element 112, and atransmission element 116 connected to the sensor PCB 117 to transmit asignal generated by the sensor PCB 114 to the outside.

The sensing element 112 may include a dust sensor for sensing theconcentration of foreign substances in the air.

An example of the dust sensor may be an optical sensor and the dustsensor may include a housing formed with an opening through whichexternal air may be introduced, a light source, such as an LED or laser,capable of emitting light to the air introduced into the housing, alight reception element, such as a photodiode or a phototransistor, fordetecting the amount of light scattered by dust such as fine dust.

The dust sensor may output the concentration of dust (i.e., theconcentration of the foreign substances) detected by the light receptionelement as the magnitude of a concentration sensing value (e.g.,voltage).

The sensor PCB 114 may process a sensing value output from the sensingelement 114, and transmit a signal corresponding thereto to thetransmission element 116.

The room R in which the clean module A is disposed may be divided into aleft area and a right area based on a vertical extension line VEextending in the upper-and-lower direction in the housing 1.

The room R in which the clean module A is disposed may be divided intoan upper area and a lower area based on a horizontal extension line HEextending in the left-and-right direction from the upper end or lowerend of the housing 1.

The room in which the clean module A is disposed may be divided into twoareas, such as an upper area and a lower area, based on the horizontalextension line HE extending in the left-and-right direction from theupper end or lower end of the housing 1, and the lower area may bedivided into a lower left area, a lower central area and a lower rightarea.

The air purifier may include two sensors, one of the two sensors being aleft sensor located in the left area, and the other of the two sensorsbeing a right sensor located in the right area.

The air purifier may include two sensors, one of the two sensors beingan upper sensor located in the upper area, and the other of the twosensors being a lower sensor located in the lower area.

The air purifier includes at least four sensors, and at least one sensormay be located in each of an upper left area, an upper right area, alower left area, and a lower right area.

The air purifier includes at least five sensors, and at least one sensormay be located in each of an upper left area UL, an upper right area UR,a lower left area LL, a lower central area LC and a lower right area LR.

For example, the plurality of sensors 101, 102, 103, 104, and 105 mayinclude the upper left sensor 101 disposed in the upper left area UL,the upper right sensor 102 disposed in the upper right area UR, thelower left sensor 103 disposed in the lower left area LL, the lowercentral sensor 104 disposed in the lower central area LC and the lowerright sensor 105 disposed in the lower right area LR.

The air purifier may further include the controller 9. The controller 9may control the blowing unit 3, and may control a fan motor 32 whencontrolling the blowing unit 3.

The controller 9 may control the tilting mechanism 5 and the liftingmechanism 6, and may control the tilting mechanism 5 and the liftingmechanism 6 in a plurality of modes. The controller 9 may control thetilting motor 52 of the tilting mechanism 5 when controlling the tiltingmechanism 5. The controller 9 may control the lifting motor 68 of thelifting mechanism 6 when controlling the lifting mechanism 6.

The controller 9 may control the tilting mechanism 5 and the liftingmechanism 6 so that a direction in which the discharge guide 4 guidesthe air faces the area where the sensor is located, if the pollutionlevel sensed by the sensor is within a set range.

The set range may be a range of the pollution level in which it may bedetermined that the vicinity of the sensor is contaminated. The setrange may include a case in which the pollution level is equal to orgreater than a set pollution level. When the set range is greater thanor equal to the set pollution level, a clean range may be a range lessthan the set pollution level.

The controller 9 may include a reception element 192 for receiving asignal transmitted by the transmission element, and a purifier PCB 94connected to the reception element 92 to control the tilting mechanism 5and the lifting mechanism 10 according to the signal received by thereception element 92.

The reception element 92 may be connected to the transmission element116 through wired or wireless communication, for example, by acommunication method such as GSM (Global System for Mobilecommunication), CDMA (Code Division Multi Access), LTE (Long TermEvolution), 5G, WLAN (Wireless LAN), Wi-Fi (Wireless-Fidelity),Bluetooth (Bluetooth™), RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), InfraredData Association (IrDA), ZigBee, NFC (Near Field Communication), etc.

The plurality of modes may include a pop-up mode and a descendingairflow mode.

The pop-up mode may be a mode in which the discharge guide 4 is raisedto a first height H1, as shown in FIG. 5 .

For example, the controller 9 may control the tilting mechanism 5 in ahorizontal mode and control the lifting mechanism 6 in an ascendingmode, when a difference between the pollution level sensed by the sensorlocated on the left side of the room and the pollution level sensed bythe sensor located on the right side of the room is less than a setvalue.

In this case, the discharge guide 4 is raised to a first height H1, theheights of the left and right ends of the discharge guide 4 may be thesame, and the air which has passed through the discharge port 12 may bedischarged and guided while being dispersed in both directions of theleft and right sides of the clean module A, as shown in FIG. 5 , and theleft and right areas of the room R may be uniformly cleaned.

The descending airflow mode may be a mode in which the discharge guide 4is lowered to a second height H2 lower than the first height H1, asshown in FIG. 6 .

The second height H2 may be a height at which the air guided to thedischarge guide 4 forms Coanda airflow along the curved surfaces 13 and14 formed around the discharge port 12. In this case, the second heightH2 may be a height at which the discharge guide 4 is not in contact withthe curved surfaces 13 and 14.

For example, the controller 9 may control the tilting mechanism 5 in thehorizontal mode and control the lifting mechanism 6 in the descendingmode, when the difference between the pollution level sensed by thesensor located at the lower part of the room and the pollution levelsensed by the sensor located at the upper portion of the room is greaterthan or equal to the set value, and the pollution level sensed by thesensor located at the lower part of the room is within a set range.

In this case, the discharge guide 4 is lowered to a second height H2,and the heights of the left and the right ends of the discharge guide 4may be the same, and the air which has passed through the discharge port12 may mainly flow along the curved surfaces 13 and 14 according to theCoanda effect, and as shown in FIG. 6 , may be discharged and guidedwhile forming descending airflow along the left and right sides of thehousing 1. The lower part of the room R, particularly, the periphery ofthe lower part of the housing 1, may be intensively cleaned by thedescending airflow flowing along the left and right sides of the housing1.

The plurality of modes may include a left concentrated discharge modeand a right concentrated discharge mode.

In the left concentrated discharge mode, as shown in FIG. 7 , a distanceL5 between the left end of the discharge guide 4 and the left curvedsurface 13 is longer than the distance L6 between the right end of thedischarge guide 4 and the right curved surface 14.

For example, the controller 9 may control the tilting mechanism 5 in aright tilting mode and control the lifting mechanism 6 in an ascendingmode, when the difference between the pollution level sensed by thesensor located on the left side of the room and the pollution levelsensed by the sensor located on the right side of the room exceeds theset value and the pollution level sensed by the sensor located on theleft side of the room is within the set range.

In this case, the discharge guide 4 may be tilted while rotating in theright direction, the gap G between the left end of the discharge guide 4and the left curved surface 13 may be increased, and the gap G betweenthe right end of the discharge guide 4 and the right curved surface 14may be reduced. As shown in FIG. 7 , the air which has passed throughthe discharge port 12 may be mainly discharged and guided in the leftdirection L of the clean module A, and the left area of the room R maybe intensively cleaned.

In the right concentrated discharge mode, as shown in FIG. 8 , adistance L6 between the right end of the discharge guide 4 and the rightcurved surface 14 may be longer than a distance L5 between the left endof the discharge guide 4 and the left curved surface 13.

For example, the controller 9 may control the tilting mechanism 5 in aleft tilting mode and control the lifting mechanism 6 in an ascendingmode, when the difference between the pollution level sensed by thesensor located on the left side of the room and the pollution levelsensed by the sensor located on the right side of the room exceeds theset value, and the pollution level sensed by the sensor located on theright side of the room is within the set range.

In this case, the discharge guide 4 may be tilted while rotating in theleft direction, the gap G between the right end of the discharge guide 4and the right curved surface 14 may be increased, and the gap G betweenthe left end of the discharge guide 4 and the left curved surface 13 maybe decreased. As shown in FIG. 8 , the air which has passed through thedischarge port 12 may be mainly discharged and guided in the rightdirection R of the clean module A, and the left area of the room R maybe intensively cleaned.

The above description is merely illustrative of the technical idea ofthe present disclosure, and various modifications and variations arepossible without departing from the essential characteristics of thepresent disclosure by those of ordinary skill in the art to which thepresent disclosure pertains.

Accordingly, the embodiments disclosed in the present disclosure are notintended to limit the technical spirit of the present disclosure, butare intended to explain the technical spirit of the present disclosure,and the scope of the technical spirit of the present disclosure is notlimited by these embodiments.

The scope of the present disclosure should be interpreted by thefollowing claims, and all technical ideas within the scope equivalentthereto should be construed as being included in the scope of thepresent disclosure.

1. An air purifier comprising: a housing having a suction port formedtherein, a space formed therein, and a discharge port formed in an upperportion thereof; a purification unit and a blowing unit accommodated inthe space; a discharge guide disposed in an upper portion of the housingto discharge and guide air blown to the discharge port; a tiltingmechanism configured to tilt the discharge guide; and a liftingmechanism configured to raise and lower the discharge guide.
 2. The airpurifier of claim 1, wherein the discharge port is opened in the upperportion of the housing in an upper-and-lower direction, wherein a sizeof the discharge guide is larger than a size of the discharge port, andwherein a rim of the discharge guide faces a periphery of the dischargeport in the upper-and-lower direction.
 3. The air purifier of claim 2,wherein the discharge guide comprises a lower guide surface facing thespace and guiding air blown from the discharge port.
 4. The air purifierof claim 2, wherein the housing comprises a curved surface formed aroundthe discharge port.
 5. The air purifier of claim 4, wherein the housingfurther comprises a pair of side surfaces extending from the curvedsurface, and wherein the pair of side surfaces gradually moves away fromeach other downward.
 6. The air purifier of claim 4, wherein a width ofthe housing in a left-and-right direction gradually increases downward.7. The air purifier of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises: adischarge body having an open bottom and the discharge port formedtherein; and an inlet guide disposed below the discharge body, andwherein at least one of the discharge body or the inlet guide comprisesa hanger connector connected to a support body extending from a hangerunit installed on a ceiling.
 8. The air purifier of claim 7, wherein thedischarge body comprises: an upper curved portion in which the dischargeport is opened in an upper-and-lower direction and a curved surface isformed around the discharge port; a left slope portion extending from alower left end of the upper curved portion; and a right slope portionextending from a lower right end of the upper curved portion, andwherein the left slope portion and the right slope portion move awayfrom each other downward.
 9. The air purifier of claim 1, wherein thedischarge guide comprises: a vane having a larger size than a size ofthe discharge port; and a connector protruding from a lower surface ofthe vane and connected to a horizontal shaft of the tilting mechanism tobe tilted about the horizontal shaft.
 10. The air purifier of claim 1,wherein the tilting mechanism is connected to the discharge guide, andwherein the lifting mechanism is connected to the tilting mechanism. 11.The air purifier of claim 1, wherein the lifting mechanism comprises: acarrier equipped with the tilting mechanism; a rack formed in thecarrier; a pinion engaged with the rack; and a lifting motor installedin the housing to rotate the pinion.
 12. The air purifier of claim 1,further comprising a lifting guide disposed inside the housing to guideraising and lowering of the tilting mechanism.
 13. The air purifier ofclaim 1, further comprising a controller configured to control thetilting mechanism and the lifting mechanism in a plurality of modes. 14.The air purifier of claim 13, wherein the plurality of modes comprise: apop-up mode in which the discharge guide is raised to a first height;and a descending airflow mode in which the discharge guide is lowered toa second height lower than the first height, wherein the second heightis a height at which air guided to the discharge guide forms Coandaairflow along a curved surface formed around the discharge port.
 15. Theair purifier of claim 14, wherein the housing comprises a left curvedsurface on a right side of the discharge port and a right curved surfaceon a right side of the discharge port, and wherein the plurality ofmodes comprises: a left concentrated discharge mode in which a distancebetween a left end of the discharge guide and the left curved surface islonger than a distance between a right end of the discharge guide andthe right curved surface; and a right concentrated discharge mode inwhich a distance between a right end of the discharge guide and theright curved surface is longer than a distance between a left end of thedischarge guide and the left curved surface.
 16. The air purifier ofclaim 13, further comprising a sensor configured to sense a pollutionlevel of a room, wherein the controller controls the tilting mechanismand the lifting mechanism so that the discharge guide guides air towardan area where the sensor is located, when a pollution level sensed bythe sensor is within a set range.
 17. The air purifier of claim 16,wherein the sensor is spaced apart from the housing outside the housing,and wherein a plurality of sensors is provided to be spaced apart fromeach other and each of the plurality of sensors is communicativelyconnected to the controller.
 18. The air purifier of claim 16, whereinthe sensor comprises: a sensing element configured to sense foreignsubstances; a sensor PCB configured to process a sensing value of thesensing element; and a transmission element connected to the sensor PCBto transmit a signal generated by the sensor PCB to an outside, whereinthe controller comprises: a reception element configured to receive asignal transmitted by the transmission element; and a purifier PCBconnected to the reception element to control the tilting mechanism andthe lifting mechanism according to the signal received by the receptionelement.
 19. An air purifier comprising: a discharge body having adischarge port formed at an upper portion thereof and a curved surfaceformed around the discharge port; a discharge guide formed with a lowerguide surface larger than the discharge port and facing the dischargeport and the curved surface and having a rim facing the curved surfacein an upper-and-lower direction; and a lifting mechanism for raising thedischarge guide to a first height or lowering the discharge guide to asecond height lower than the first height, wherein the second height isa height at which the lower guide surface is not in contact with thecurved surface.
 20. The air purifier of claim 19, wherein the dischargebody further comprises a pair of side surfaces extending from the curvedsurface, and wherein the pair of side surfaces gradually moves away fromeach other downward.
 21. The air purifier of claim 19, comprising aninlet guide guiding air into the discharge body, wherein the inlet guidehas a left end spaced apart from a left inner surface of the dischargebody and a right end spaced apart from a right inner surface of thedischarge body.